1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a wall panel mounting system, and more particularly, to a removable highly secured wall panel mounting system that is installable and removable by hand.
2. Background Art
Wall coverings have been in use for many years to decorate walls, hide imperfections, provide acoustical and thermal insulation, and protect walls from moisture and impact damage. Conventional wall coverings such as wall paper, paint and nailed-on wood or screwed-on synthetic panels are used in many residential and commercial applications. However, there are many well-known drawbacks to these prior art wall covering solutions. In order to remove a permanently nailed-on wall panel, a pry bar is conventionally used. The use of a pry bar causes dents and divots in underlying walls. Permanently screwed-on panels typically require overlaps in order to conceal screws or other fastening devices from plain sight. A system employing overlapped panels is plagued by the need to install or remove the panels in a fixed order. Therefore, removal and replacement of a damaged panel involves an undue amount of time, effort and labor cost.
Some panel mounting systems have been invented, but they suffer from insecure attachment. The wall panels become easily detached when bumped or knocked with any reasonable amount of force.
Another drawback of wall panels installed by nails and screws is a potential health hazard. Wall panels installed with their rear face coming in abutment with the underlying walls tend to trap moisture between the panel and wall, encouraging mold growth.
Several individually removable wall panel mounting solutions have been attempted to solve several of the above problems. However, none of the prior art discloses a satisfactory solution where moisture build-up is inhibited while wall panels can be securely attached to a wall without risk of intentional or accidental detachment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,189 to Wilson discloses a decorative wall panel including a fabric covering on a board removably secured to an existing wall. The rear of the board carries a plurality of “VELCRO” fasteners for cooperation with corresponding fasteners on the wall. The panels may be easily secured to the wall, such as a dry wall partition, and may be just as easily removed whenever desired. The '189 disclosure fails to teach a removably attachable wall panel covering system that is tamper resistant. In column 1 lines 10-11 of the '189 patent, it has been disclosed that the removable wall panel can be conveniently removed from the wall by a simple pulling action. As such, a panel according to the '189 disclosure may only be used in a low traffic area for fear of accidental detachment and falling of a panel. It is further disclosed that the panels are secured to walls with fibrous fasteners which are relatively low in tensile attachment strength. As such, relatively large patches of such fibrous fasteners are required to provide adequate attachment to walls. Large patches of fibrous fasteners require large adhesive attachment surfaces which can present significant challenges to their complete removal once they are no longer required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,753 to Hsu discloses a wall panel mounting system including prefabricated T-shaped (in cross section) horizontal supporting strips, L-shaped horizontal supporting strips, L-shaped end-locking strips and decorative panels. The end-locking strips interact with the horizontal strips and the decorative panels, provide an aesthetic appearance to the finished system when assembled on a wall and provide safety by covering the exposed ends of the T-shaped horizontal strips. In use, the wall paneling system may be easily and conveniently installed onto existing walls by a user without professional assistance and may be just as easily and conveniently removed from the wall whenever it is desired to inspect behind the panels, change the decor, or to remove the panels for installation at another location. The '753 patent also discloses a paneling system having panels that can be removed quickly and easily as disclosed in column 9 lines 28-30 of the same. It is further disclosed in column 3 lines 10-11 of the same that hook and loop fasteners are used to secure panels to strips secured to walls. The '753 patent fails to teach a removable panel system that is capable of preventing accidental detachment nor does it teach a safety measure to prevent dropping of a panel upon detaching from a wall. The proposed application for the system disclosed in '753 is for residential use in basements which are typically not exposed to high traffic or use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,397 to Capaul discloses a demountable acoustical panel structure having a honeycomb core, and a thin, dense, sound transmitting glass fiber sheet of uniform thickness adhered to each of the opposed major surfaces of the core. One of the thin sheets advantageously carries segments or patches of a separable fastening means to enable the panel structure to be installed on a supporting surface provided with cooperating segments or patches of a separable fastening means by simply aligning the fastening means. The '397 patent also discloses a paneling system having panels that can be demounted from the support surface without damage to the panels or the support surface as disclosed in column 2 lines 57-58 of the same. It is further disclosed in column 5 lines 3-5 of the same that hook and loop fasteners are used to secure panels to strips secured to walls. The '397 patent also fails to teach a removable panel system that is capable of preventing accidental detachment nor does it teach a safety measure to prevent dropping of a panel upon detaching from a wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,805,899 to Montgomery discloses a high impact, moisture resistant, wall panel system and methods for mounting a high impact, moisture resistant wall panel to an existing structure. Patent '899 details a high impact, moisture resistant wall panel includes an inert substrate composed of a high density inorganic material. The substrate is dimensionally stable. There is further provided a laminate composed of a substantially rigid polymeric material and an adhesive for engaging the laminate to the substrate. According to this disclosure, any given panel in the wall system can be removed without prior removal of panels above or around the panel. This is accomplished by leaving an adequate reveal around each panel so the panel can be lifted and removed. The size of the panel clip engaged with the wall support is smaller than the reveal dimension, thereby allowing the removal of individual panels. As such, a force sufficient to overcome the weight of a panel is enough to dislodge the panel if the force is applied in a direction for detaching the panel. Such attachment is not secure especially when used in a high traffic area. As panels are mounted by engaging fixedly attached panel clips to fixedly attached wall supports, this system is not suitable for mounting tightly placed wall panels of non-rectangular shapes.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,511,014 of Delforte discloses a removable highly secured high impact wall panel mounting system for mounting at least one wall panel having a front face, a rear face and at least one first attachment portion attached to a portion of the rear face, to a wall in an area of high traffic, comprising at least one second attachment portion and at least one joint closure having an elongated strip. The elongated strip includes a longitudinal axis and a substantially rectangular cross-sectional profile including a top wall, a bottom wall and two side walls connecting the top wall to the bottom wall. Each pair of flanges is disposed substantially symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of the strip. In one embodiment, a bottom support bracket is provided to cooperate with a plurality of hooks disposed on a wall panel. Patent '014 details bottom supporting brackets and second attachment portions that are fixedly secured to walls and incapable of slideable movements with respect to the walls.
Thus, there exists a need for a wall panel mounting system that is removable, highly secured wall panel mounting system that is suitable for a high traffic area and easy to install.